Yama Rising

"How could you speak in their favor?" Volta turned to stare at Faraday with an incredulous expression.

"I'm just speaking the truth. The academic world has become a little too conceited," Faraday replied with a shrug. "Just because we want to see it doesn't mean that they have to show it to us. Don't look at me like that! I had an epiphany just now: we are only scientists, what can we do in the face of a powerhouse like the Cathayan Underworld? Can we unite all scientists to sanction them? Can we withhold our patent usage rights from them? If we could accomplish that, perhaps the Cathayan Underworld would concede to us, but have you considered how difficult it would be to unite all scientists?"

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair as he heaved a faint sigh. "We should be thankful that Cai Lun is no longer in the underworld. Otherwise, the Cathayan Underworld would be able to immediately retaliate using Cai Lun's paper patent. Otherwise, our only other alternative would be to join the Prometheus plan."

Volta fell silent upon hearing this.

In contrast with Franklin, who had decided to take a gamble on the Prometheus plan, he wasn't optimistic about this plan's outlook.

Even though Archimedes had already analyzed the situation for everyone, and he was willing to admit that he found Archimedes's theory to be quite sound. It was most likely the case that the Cathayan Underworld wasn't far ahead of the rest of the world in the development of the new energy resource, and that they were only using the subject as a means to secure more political power and establish the image of the third King Yanluo.

However, in science, even a small lead could result in a gap that competitors wouldn't be able to bridge even after decades of hard work!

"Prometheus plan, eh?" Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out beside them, and the two Yin spirits looked up with surprised expressions to find that Qin Ye had arrived beside them completely without their notice.

"To what do we owe this honor, Yanluo Qin?" Volta was rolling his eyes internally, but he put on a respectful smile as he said, "I thought we were already speaking very quietly with one another, my apologies if our conversation distracted you."

What he meant to say was: "As the Cathayan Underworld's King Yanluo, is it really appropriate for you to be eavesdropping on others like this?"

"I was just passing through," Qin Ye said with a smile. "Can I sit here?"

He pointed at a chair off to the side as he spoke.

"Of course!" The two scientists wanted nothing more than to say no, but they couldn't just chase the ruler of one of the four pillars away.

Thus, Qin Ye sat down in the vacant chair, and everyone in the entire hall instantly turned their attention toward the trio. A servant immediately offered up a cup of coffee, and Qin Ye picked up the cup before taking a sip. As he set the coffee cup down, a meaningful look surfaced in his eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Would you two like to know about the current state of the new energy resource?"

Volta and Faraday immediately sprang to their feet in unison upon hearing this, and they were staring at Qin Ye with incredulous expressions, unsure of what he was plotting.

He had just declared to everyone that they weren't going to reveal the current state of the energy resource, yet he was asking them if they wanted to hear about it now?

The two Yin spirits exchanged an astonished glance, and they were at a complete loss for what to do.

Qin Ye's smile faded as he continued, "If you want someone to trust you, then you have to show them your sincerity first, that has always been a mantra that I've stuck by."

He made a grabbing motion as he spoke, and two scrolls appeared on the table.

"Are those... Heavenly Dao Contract Scrolls?!" Faraday's voice instantly spiked up a few octaves as the astonishment in his eyes became even more pronounced.

Regardless of what the Cathayan Underworld's attitude had been prior to this, in this moment, he truly believed that Qin Ye was willing to tell them what they wanted to hear the most!

These scrolls were extremely difficult to obtain. Even a death god would be lucky to obtain one during their lifetime, yet Qin Ye had brought out two at once! It was clear that what he was about to say next was going to be extremely impactful!

His throat suddenly felt as dry as the Sahara Desert, and instead of immediately accepting the scroll, he reflexively looked around, upon which he discovered that the netherfire in the eyes of all of the scientists seated at the surrounding tables had sprung up to over a meter in height as they scrutinized the trio intently.

Was the Cathayan Underworld offering them a chance to hear the truth? Were they going to accept the opportunity or not?

Volta and Faraday were completely rooted to the spot, looking as if they had been transformed into stone statues.

"Gentlemen," Qin Ye urged in a solemn voice. "I'm afraid we don't have much time on our hands. 10 minutes of the half-hour break have already passed by. In the name of the third King Yanluo, I guarantee you that Mr. Archimedes and Mr. Aristotle, whom you respect so much, are definitely currently in the process of doing everything in their power to recruit other scientists to their side. This is the most basic power struggle between nations, and it's instinctive to all politicians."

In half an hour, the outcome of the power struggle was going to be decided!

"I need you on my side." He gently pushed the two scrolls on the table towards the two scientists as he said, "I've already written all of the rules in there, including what you can and can't reveal to everyone else. Open the scrolls, and I'll tell you everything you want to know about the new energy resource!"

Volta and Faraday exchanged a complex glance, and neither of them wanted to accept the scroll.

These things were like hot potatoes. Even if they were to accept them, they wouldn't be able to hold them.

However, the raging curiosity in their hearts refused to allow them to even consider the option of refusing this offer!

Take the scroll and open it! Aside from the scientists of the Cathayan Underworld, you will be the ones closest to the truth!

Dead silence.

A full two minutes passed by, and Qin Ye was forcibly repressing the urgency and agitation in his heart. He knew that Archimedes and Aristotle were definitely doing the same thing elsewhere. There was no way that they would allow the Cathayan Underworld to become the premier superpower of the world.

Not only would the birth of a new energy resource completely alter the power balance between nations, it would also shift the international central hub of science from the east coast of the pacific ocean to the west coast. Both of these outcomes would be extremely detrimental to the Argosian Underworld.

He needed Faraday and Volta, two of the fathers of electricity. To put it more accurately, he needed their patents. For this purpose, he was even willing to offer up Heavenly Dao Contract Scrolls. At the very least, this would prevent the two of them from voting in favor of the intellectual sanctions that Archimedes and Aristotle were potentially going to propose.

Two minutes later, Faraday grabbed onto a scroll with a trembling hand. He seemed to want to smile, but simply couldn't muster up any expression even remotely resembling a smile, and in the end, he proposed, "I know of a nice, private location where we can speak in greater depth. Would you be interested in coming with me, Yanluo Qin?"

"Of course, please lead the way."

Thus, Qin Ye followed the two scientists out of the hall. The two scientists were walking along in an absentminded manner, and only after three minutes, they arrived in a quiet and secluded room. A servant opened the door, and they immediately headed straight for the booth. After taking a seat, Faraday took several deep breaths before opening his scroll with trembling hands.

As soon as the scroll was opened, it released a burst of dazzling radiance. There wasn't a single word written on it, only what appeared to be a living vast starry sky!

"It really is a Heavenly Dao Contract Scroll..." Faraday's voice was trembling as he gently stroked the surface of the scroll with his finger. "This is said to be an unbreakable vow. Legend has it that each death god only has one chance in their life to get the Heavenly Dao to bear witness for them. This isn't just a one-off request. Instead, the Heavenly Dao will continue to oversee that matter for as long as the death god lives! I didn't think that such a thing truly exists..."

He took another deep breath, and his Yin energy flowed to his fingertip. However, right as his fingertip was about to come into contact with the scroll, he suddenly paused before turning to Volta. "Are you going to sign the contract as well?"

Volta seemed to be extremely conflicted, and only after a full 30 seconds had passed did he grit his teeth as he opened the scroll.

The two scientists quickly signed their names on the scrolls, then closed them before handing the scrolls back to Qin Ye. Before Qin Ye even had a chance to stow the two scrolls away, they asked in an urgent manner, "Who else is there? Who else did you invite?"

"I invited Mr. James Maxwell as well," Qin Ye replied.

On the 20th of March, 1800, Alessandro Volta announced that he had invented the voltaic pile.

This was one of history's miraculous inventions!

Perhaps not many people in the present day would be familiar with what a voltaic pile was, but they would definitely know its other name.

The voltaic pile was also known as a battery pack!

Faraday was the father of lines of magnetic force and lines of electric force, as well as the Faraday effect and the dynamo. He was an extremely significant contributor to electricity.

Maxwell was the founder of classical electrodynamics, as well as one of the founding fathers of statistical mechanics. He predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves and perfectly described electromagnetic force fields. He was the inventor of Maxwell's equation, and all radio technology stemmed from electromagnetic force fields.

Volta, Faraday, Franklin, and Einstein were known as the fathers of electricity, while Maxwell was also an extremely important figure in the field of physics as well as in the study of electricity.

"What do you want to tell us?" Upon hearing Maxwell's name, Volta and Faraday could already sense that what Qin Ye was going to say next was going to be extremely impactful, and they hurriedly looked down at their watches. "There are still 10 minutes left!"

Qin Ye nodded in response, then said in a serious expression, "The Cathayan Underworld really does have a new energy resource, but we haven't released any details pertaining to its research and development because it's related to a massive scandal that just took place in the Cathayan Underworld. As you both know, I only recently ascended to the throne. However, I'm sure you don't know who my most formidable adversary was during this early phase of my time in power."

He took a deep breath before revealing, "It was Xu Fu. After being discovered by me, Xu Fu fled to the west in an attempt to reach Northern Usonia, but he was captured in the end. The one who discovered the new energy resource wasn't the Cathayan Underworld. Instead, it was him. He was extremely special in that he had consumed the Taisui fungus, thereby making him a living underworld emissary. When he first invented this new energy resource, it had incorporated elements from both the mortal realm and the underworld, which means that it can't be replicated in the underworld alone. What we are doing now is separating the mortal realm elements from the energy resource and replacing them with underworld Yin runes. Due to the nature of this scandal, we couldn't reveal everything about the new energy resource. On top of that, Xu Fu has always remained in contact with the Argosian Underworld, and they've been constantly exerting pressure upon our Cathayan Underworld to try and take the new energy resource away from us, so we had no choice but to keep everything a secret. The prototype unit that you saw is genuine, but it's one that Xu Fu created in the past. Thus far, we are still far away from being able to replicate such a unit."

Faraday and Volta exchanged a glance upon hearing this, and they could see their own astonishment and enlightenment mirrored in one another's eyes.

I see...

No wonder the Cathayan Underworld had refused to reveal any details pertaining to the new energy resource this entire time, the reason for this was that its main architect was a treasonous criminal! There was no way that they could ask someone like him to continue designing the new energy resource, so the Cathayan Underworld had to start everything again on this foundation!

However, this issue wasn't a concern to them. Instead, they had already been overcome by a wave of elation!

As scientists, what they cared the most about was whether the new energy resource truly existed, and if so, what stage of development was it at?

Having been told all of this by Qin Ye, they could feel the Cathayan Underworld's sincerity.

The Cathayan Underworld's King Yanluo had approached them in person and brought out Heavenly Dao Contract Scrolls! This was already a massive show of sincerity, but it still wasn't enough!

"What stage of development have you reached at this point?" Faraday asked in an urgent voice.

"We've completely dissected the new energy resource and found the electron Yin rune," Qin Ye replied without any hesitation.

He had already brought out Heavenly Dao Contract Scrolls, so he had no intention of deceiving these two scientists.

Volta felt as if a surge of electricity were running along his spine, yet before he could say anything, Faraday asked, "How long will it be until the new energy resource is projected to be ready?"

"Three years at a minimum, 10 years at most!"

Both of the scientists closed their eyes in unison and heaved a collective sigh of relief.

The Cathayan Underworld hadn't deceived everyone, after all!

At the same time, they knew that if anyone dared to provoke the Cathayan Underworld on this occasion, they would definitely be left to sorely rue their decision!